


Run of Three

by AngelQueen



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Hurt/Comfort, Kink Meme, Multi, Threesome - F/M/M, episode-related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-08
Updated: 2011-04-08
Packaged: 2017-10-17 18:47:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/180058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelQueen/pseuds/AngelQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slight AU of 3x10 <i>Queen of Hearts</i>: After Gwen's sentencing, Merlin must keep both of his lovers from falling apart. While desperately trying to come up with a plan, Merlin is forced to reveal a large secret that he's been keeping from them. He hadn't been this nervous when telling them about his magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Run of Three

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** _Merlin_ is property of the BBC and Shine. I make no claim on it and write this for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement intended.
> 
> Based on a prompt for the [Merlin Kink](http://kinkme_merlin.livejournal.com) community, located [here](http://kinkme-merlin.livejournal.com/17437.html?thread=16442653#t16442653).

It was really a miracle that all three of them weren’t discovered together in the clearing. Merlin had slipped away for a few moments to relieve himself, leaving Gwen and Arthur alone with their little picnic. It had been then that Uther and Morgana had arrived, and thus only saw part of the picture. They never knew Merlin was there with them in the forest, the only piece of good news in an entirely dismal situation.

Arthur stared out over the courtyard, watching the guards and servants place the wood bundles around the stake and platform. Come morning, it would be set alight, with Gwen tied on top of it, the flames licking at her feet, burning her skirt, her skin —

“I can’t watch her die, Merlin,” he whispered hoarsely, turning to look at his companion.

Merlin’s pale face flushed a little and his eyes flashed angrily. “And you think I can?” he snapped. He slipped around the desk and grasped Arthur’s shoulders, giving him a little shake. “You’re not the only one who loves Gwen. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, you prat!”

At any other time, Arthur would have shoved Merlin off and reminded him that he couldn’t talk to him like that. Perhaps even cuffed him over the head. Now, though, he just stared at him dully. “My father won’t believe anything that comes out of my mouth, Merlin. As long as he thinks I’m enchanted, my word is worthless. I’ll never be able to convince him that Gwen is innocent.”

Merlin stared at him, his expression furious. “So… what? We just give up? We’ll find another way,” he replied. “We _can’t_ give up. If all we can do is smuggle her out of the kingdom to my mother in Ealdor, then that’s what we’ll do. Then, when your father has the grace to —”

“Careful, Merlin,” Arthur interrupted warningly. They had to assume that the walls had ears, and Merlin had yet to find a spell that would make his chambers impervious to eavesdroppers.

He shrugged, not even a hint of remorse in his posture. Then again, Merlin had made his feelings on Arthur’s father more than clear over the years. Arthur even agreed with many of them, but still, what one thought in the privacy of one’s own mind was one thing. Saying them out loud could be construed as treason. Taking a deep, shaky breath, Arthur asked, “Do you actually _have_ a plan?”

“Maybe,” Merlin answered. “But I need to know more first.” He stepped back. “Come on. We have to get to Gwen.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Arthur demanded. “I told you – the guards watch my every move. How am I —”

Merlin’s eyes flashed gold and a smirk crossed his lips, cutting Arthur off.

* * *

As frustrating as it often was, being thought of as a harmless, well-meaning idiot could be immensely useful. All it took was a tray of food from the kitchen and a disarming smile to convince the guard to let him in to Gwen’s cell. “I thought you might be hungry,” he said to Gwen as she stood up to meet him. The door was shut and locked behind him and the guard returned to his post, leaving them alone.

She wrinkled her nose. “No, I cannot even _think_ about eating.”

Merlin barely had time to set the tray down before Gwen leapt into his arms, sobbing quietly. He staggered back a few steps, but still managed to catch her against him, wrapping his arms around her. She clung to him, burying her face in his neck, and he stroked her hair. “Shh,” he soothed. “It’s going to be all right, Gwen. It’s going to be okay.”

“No,” she whispered. “It’s not.” Stepping back, she wiped her eyes. “How is Arthur?”

Merlin blinked. “He’s been better,” he replied. “We both have.”

Gwen bowed her head and her hands started worrying with the dirty apron she wore over her dress. “You’ll look after him when I’m gone?” she asked in a small voice. “You’ll look after each other?”

Merlin ground his teeth in frustration. First Arthur was giving up, and now Gwen? “You’re not going to die, Gwen,” he told her firmly. “Not for a long, long time.”

She mustered a trembling smile, but she didn’t look convinced.

“He keeps saying that,” another voice chimed in from the cell door. They both whirled around to see Arthur opening the door and stepping inside. “So he must have some kind of plan, though he has yet to share it with me.”

“The guard let you in?” Gwen asked, surprised.

Arthur didn’t take his eyes off her. “Merlin’s magic is actually useful at times,” he said, a strained lightness in his tone. “A little invisibility spell and sleep potion in the guard’s drink, and here I am. As far as everyone else knows, I’m still in my chambers.”

She nodded tearfully and flew into his embrace, repeating the hug she had given Merlin. Arthur buried his face in her matted curls. Merlin, who had been holding firmly onto a sense of purpose, felt something inside of him twist painfully. He’d been doing his best not to show it, to be strong for them, but he was just as terrified as them right now.

At that moment, Arthur and Gwen both turned their heads to look at him, neither stepping out of each other’s personal space. Then, as one, they each held out a hand to him. Merlin needed no further invitation. He stepped forward and hugged them both. Somehow, they managed to press their foreheads together, creating a kind of triangle.

They stayed like that for several seconds, and Merlin could feel himself being rejuvenated. Arthur and Gwen also seemed to be regaining their strength. At the very least, they no longer appeared ready to accept defeat at the hands of the cold, cruel man who called himself King of Camelot.

“So,” Arthur finally said, as they let go of one another long enough to sit down on the straw-covered floor, “what plan do you have, Merlin?”

Merlin took a deep breath before responding. “First, we need information. We have to find out who really planted the poultice under your pillow.” He looked at Gwen. “Do you have _any_ idea who it might have been?”

Gwen didn’t respond immediately. She bowed her head slightly, and Merlin could see her eyes darting this way and that, indecision and conflict written over her tired features. “What is it?” he prodded.

* * *

She didn’t know what to do. Should she tell them? She could barely believe it herself, but given what she had seen while hiding in Morgana’s chambers when Arthur had gone on his quest to the lands of the Fisher King and what was happening now, did she dare remain silent?

“Gwen?” Arthur was staring at her intently. He looked almost as bad as she felt. Merlin seemed to be holding up the best of all of them, at least outwardly. In many ways, he had changed the most, learning to hide what he was feeling. Now, though, Gwen could see the turmoil in his blue eyes. He was suffering the same as she and Arthur.

Finally, she spoke. She really had nothing left to lose. “After I was sentenced to death,” she said, hardly daring to speak above a whisper, “I was being led out. I looked back, and I saw her… Morgana was _smiling_.”

Arthur’s eyes widened almost comically, but it was Merlin’s reaction that caught Gwen’s attention. He stiffened significantly, and seemed to almost jerk back, as though to put distance between them. It was something he had done too much for Gwen’s taste in the past several months.

“You probably think I’m mad,” she said, her eyes on Merlin.

Surprisingly, Merlin shook his head. “No,” he replied. “No, I don’t doubt you at all.” Dread was rampant in his tone. Gwen felt herself stiffen just as he had. He knew something, something he wasn’t speaking of.

Arthur, thank goodness, picked up on it too. “Merlin?” he said sharply.

Merlin jerked again and whipped his head toward him, his eyes growing wide, almost frantic. “What?”

Gwen flinched. Why was his voice so full of fear? What was _wrong_? Well, besides the obvious?

Arthur did not let up, pursing answers like the hunter he was. “What do you know?” he demanded.

Merlin opened his mouth, and Gwen could already sense the denial about to spring forth from his lips. Not even thinking about it, she reached out and grasped his hand tightly. “Merlin,” she said simply.

His gaze flicked between Arthur and her for several moments, until he finally seemed to deflate. “Morgana, she…” he trailed off. He licked his lips and then continued, “She’s in league with Morgause.”

* * *

There, he’d said it. The very heart of what Merlin had struggled to hide from both of them had finally been brought into the light. “She has been since before she… left,” he added. Why hold back now?

Arthur gaped like a fish, staring at him almost uncomprehendingly. Gwen’s reaction, though, was more curious. Though she looked ready to cry, she did not appear all that shocked.

“I saw her using magic, a few weeks ago,” Gwen said. She looked at him searchingly. “She is no longer our friend, is she?”

He shook his head. “She hasn’t been since before Morgause took her away. Morgana brought the sleeping sickness into Camelot.”

Gwen bowed her head. “I can no longer trust her, not after what I’ve seen. Using the magic in secret isn’t everything. She… I saw Morgause shortly before I saw the magic, disguised as an old woman. She spoke with Morgana for several minutes.”

“ _Why?_ ” Arthur burst out at last. “Why would she turn against Camelot? My father loves her, caters to her every whim. She’s like a sister to me! Why?” When Merlin didn’t respond, Arthur looked at him more closely. “And why haven’t you said anything before now?” He narrowed his eyes. “What have I said about secrets, Merlin?”

Merlin gritted his teeth. “Would you have believed me before now?” he asked angrily. “You said it yourself; you love her as a sister. If I had told her that the smiling face she puts on for all of us is a sham, that she’s plotting to kill all of us, what would you have done?” Arthur opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Merlin nodded. “Exactly. You would have thrown me in the stocks or, worse, the dungeons for saying something like that.”

It was true. Merlin had thought so many times about confiding in them, about telling them the truth about Morgana, but had choked on the words every time he considered it. Gwen and Arthur loved her; he didn’t think they’d accept anything said against her, not even from him. So he had held his peace, confiding only in Gaius.

Finally, Arthur spoke again. “Do… do you think Morgana could have put the poultice in my chambers?” He looked as though he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.

Merlin nodded anyway. He had been filled with guilt for a long time for his part in forcing Morgana down the path she was on, but when she had expanded her plots to include attacks on Gwen and Arthur, much of his sympathy for her had dwindled. They had done nothing but love her, and she had proven that she wasn’t above sentencing them to death to further her aims. Whatever he had done, she was the one who had chosen to be cruel and selfish to those who loved her. “Probably.”

“And it probably wasn’t a coincidence that she and Uther found us in the woods,” Gwen added.

For several minutes, Arthur didn’t speak, just closed his eyes, clearly deep in thought. When he did speak, he said, “We’ll discuss Morgana and,” he gave Merlin a sharp look, “your abominable communication skills later, Merlin. Right now, we have to free Gwen.”

Merlin nodded, grateful. One problem at a time. Gwen needed them now. Morgana and her plots could wait.

* * *

Merlin’s plan was insane. Completely, utterly insane, and with barely any chance of working. So, naturally, it did work, though not without its hitches. Merlin’s incredible luck struck again. Still, Arthur could barely believe the three of them had survived this. He had been so sure when he led the disguised Merlin to the pyre that all he had done was trade one lover for the other, that he had condemned Merlin to save Guinevere. It wasn’t until Merlin had suddenly lunged at Gaius, shouting about curses, and the pyre had exploded in an intense fireball, that Arthur had felt some hope again. Perhaps not all was lost.

Then, when he and the guards had rounded the corner to find Merlin swaying dizzily on his feet but looking like his normal self, Arthur was certain he had never felt so relieved in his life.

During his report to his father concerning the old man and his apparent disappearance, Arthur had found himself watching Morgana closely from the corner of his eye. She appeared solemn and concerned, as the situation demanded, but as he observed her, he began to see other things, things he had not seen before – he way her fingers clenched convulsively on the arms of her chair and he cold set of her eyes when she looked at him, the faint sneer on her face whenever she glanced toward his father.

How had he missed this?

It was several days before he and Merlin were able to arrange some time alone with Gwen. Arthur had little doubt that his father would still have both him and Gwen watched closely for some time, just to make sure that there were no lingering influences from the “enchantment”. Still, Merlin could make a visit to Gwen without too much suspicion, and thus his magic proved useful yet again in getting Arthur out of the castle and into Gwen’s home. He supposed they were also fortunate that Elyan was off on a trip to the village he had been living in, packing up the remainder of this things there so he could move permanently to Camelot.

They were alive, but still had much to discuss. Of course, the one who was supposed to speak was currently doing all he could to delay. Merlin kept his gaze on Gwen’s rough-hewn table, one of his nails scratching at it restlessly.

“I don’t know where to start,” he murmured, ducking his head.

Arthur rolled his eyes. “The beginning is always a good place, Merlin.”

Much to his surprise, the other man snorted. “But where is the beginning?” he asked, almost sounding a little hysterical. He took a sip of the tea Gwen had made for them, and then sighed. “All right, do you remember the night there was a fire in Morgana’s chambers? Uther suspected someone was using magic to attack her.”

Arthur nodded. He remembered that Gwen had initially been suspected of being careless with a candle.

Both he and Gwen sat in silence, listening as Merlin told them of how it had really been Morgana’s magic beginning to manifest in ways other than her nightmares. He explained how he coaxed her into confiding in him, and how he managed to find a Druid sympathizer who could tell him where an encampment was, so he could send Morgana to them.

“She went willingly?” Arthur demanded. “She wasn’t kidnapped?”

Merlin shook his head. “Hardly. Of course, that’s what Uther assumed, and sent you after her. I went ahead, to try and convince her to come back. I thought that if I brought her back, it would prevent the Druids from being slaughtered.”

Arthur winced, remembering the camp. It had been full of children and women, and he had had orders to take no prisoners. He didn’t want to imagine how many innocent people had fallen to his sword and those of his knights that day.

Merlin continued, saying of how close he had come to confiding his own magic to Morgana, but had in the end chosen to heed the Dragon’s warnings, at least for the moment. Arthur couldn’t help but feel a wave of jealousy. He’d had to actually _catch_ Merlin using his magic in order to get a confession of it out of him, but Merlin had actually almost told Morgana of it of his own free will?

Eventually, Merlin told him of Alvarr and Mordred and their sneaking into Camelot to visit Morgana and convince her to steal the Crystal of Neahtid.

“How could she have done that? I had the only key to the room where the magical items were stored…” Arthur trailed off, remembering. He stared at Merlin. “You knew it was her, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell me she stole the key?” Why had Merlin taken the blame for her?

Merlin’s eyes were bleak. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” he said. “And stop interrupting, or we’ll be here all night.” Then he kept going. When he came to the point where Camelot had been infected with the sleeping sickness, and what the Dragon eventually told him about what Morgana had done, trickle of dread slipped down Arthur’s spine.

“The sickness, it was tied to her very life-force,” Merlin said, his voice barely above the whisper. “Only the caster could break it with magic. The only other way was for the life-force to end. Morgause certainly wasn’t going to break the spell causing the sickness, not unless we had something she wanted.”

A soft cry slipped past Gwen’s lips. The flood of realization had entered her eyes when Arthur turned to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders. “You… you…” she couldn’t go on.

Merlin didn’t try to deny it. “I poisoned her,” he stated, his voice choked with emotion. His face was completely devoid of color, and his eyes were glassy. “I fed her water laced with hemlock, and held her as she was dying.” He closed his eyes, and Arthur could see tears slipping past his lashes. “I didn’t want to,” he breathed. “I… she was my _friend_ , but what else could I do? We were all dying…”

Indeed, what else could he have done? Arthur knew he should probably be raging right now, hearing of how his lover had poisoned his almost-sister, but he recalled all too easily what they had been facing then – a kingdom slowly dying, Morgause and her cursed knights on the cusp of taking over, his own strength fading by the minute.

They sat in silence for several minutes, Gwen now openly crying, her face buried in Arthur’s shoulder. Merlin didn’t look at either of them for some time, but eventually drew himself up, sitting tall on the bench. He resumed his tale with a flat, inflectionless tone, keeping a tight grip on his feelings. He told them of Morgana’s eventual return, her threats to tell Uther of what Merlin had done, and her constant efforts to bring down Camelot.

That wasn’t all that he told them, though.

“Uther told Gaius that Morgana was his… his daughter.”

Arthur’s world was already battered as it was, but this shattered what was left.

* * *

Merlin had debated on whether or not to reveal Morgana’s true parentage, but had ultimately decided to do so. Lately, things he’d kept secret had had a habit of blowing up in his face. Best to just get it out now.

Of course, watching Arthur flinch under the blows of his words was still horrible, and this latest was no exception. Merlin could almost see the wheels in his mind turning. Morgana was nearly two years Arthur’s senior, so she would have been conceived and born long before Arthur’s own conception.

So much for Uther’s vaunted love for Ygraine, he thought bitterly. To take to the bed of another woman, the wife of his _friend_ , said more than enough. Merlin sometimes wondered if Gorlois had known.

“Does Morgana know?” Arthur asked, his voice cold. He didn’t even react when Gwen squeezed his hand in hers. His eyes were two identical ice-chips.

Merlin hesitated, but then nodded. “I think so. Before then, she seemed to just focus her attacks on Uther, trying to oust him from power, but more recently… she’s gone after you. She wants the throne for herself.”

“Is that why you followed me on my quest?”

“Yes. The bracelet she gave you was killing you.” Merlin explained then how he had given the bracelet to the Fisher King in exchange for the water of Avalon. Both Gwen and Arthur’s eyes widened.

“He was _still alive_?” Gwen gasped.

Merlin nodded again. It had been surreal, seeing the old sorcerer, hearing his words. “He told me dark times were coming, and that the waters would show me the way when all seemed lost.” He didn’t repeat the king’s words about how the time of the Once and Future King was dawning, because he knew that it implied that Uther’s time was ending. No need to go down that road just yet, not when Arthur was as angry as he was with his father.

Arthur let out an exhausted sigh. “Anything else concerning Morgana?” he asked tiredly.

He shook his head. “That’s pretty much it. All that I can think of for the moment, anyway.”

Arthur nodded. He didn’t seem inclined to speak just yet, so Merlin chanced a look at Gwen. She was pale herself, her cheeks streaked with her earlier tears. She caught his gaze, and offered him a small, weak smile. She reached out with her hand – the one that wasn’t clasped with Arthur’s – and took his in her grip. Her thumb brushed over his knuckles in a tiny caress. It was a small gesture, but it meant everything to him right now.

“This is insane,” Arthur finally said. “My foster-sister who is really my sister by blood is actually a sorceress, and she is in league with the enemies of Camelot to kill me and my faithless father so that she might rule in our place.” He shook his head. “My father will never believe a word of it.” He snorted. “Under most circumstances, _I_ wouldn’t believe it.”

Merlin held his breath. If Arthur didn’t believe…

Gwen seemed to be thinking much the same. She stared at him. “But you do believe it, don’t you?”

He glanced at her. “Yes,” he said. “There’s too much here for it _not_ to be true.” Arthur took a sip of the tea, and wrinkled his nose. It had gone cold a while ago. “The three of us are all that stands between Morgana and Camelot’s destruction.”

“And Gaius,” Merlin cut in. “He knows too.”

Arthur nodded. “And Gaius,” he repeated. He lowered his eyes to the table. “We will have to watch her carefully from now on, to stop whatever schemes she concocts in the future.”

“We?” Merlin said.

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Yes, ‘we’, Merlin. You don’t think I’m about to let you keep fumbling about, trying to stop her on your own, do you? It’s probably a miracle you haven’t gotten yourself killed already.” His eyes sparkled with a familiar, teasing glint for just a moment, but then he grew serious again. “I can’t afford to turn a blind eye to things I’d rather not face, as my father does. If he cannot be vigilant against threats that are within his own household, then I must do so. No matter how… angry I am over his indiscretions.”

“We all will do as we must,” Gwen agreed. “For the people’s sake.”

For the people’s sake. Yes, Merlin thought. They’d protect the people.

And each other.


End file.
